POWERFUL Writing Strategies FOR ALL Students

POWERFUL

Writing Strategies

FOR ALL

Students

by

Karen R. Harris, Ed.D.

and

Steve Graham, Ed.D. Vanderbilt University

Linda H. Mason, Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University

Barbara Friedlander, M.A. Montgomery County Public Schools

Baltimore ? London ? Sydney

Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Post Office Box 10624 Baltimore, Maryland 21285-0624 USA



Copyright ? 2008 Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

"Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co." is a registered trademark of Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.

Typeset by Integrated Publishing Solutions, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Manufactured in the United States by Versa Press, Inc., East Peoria, Illinois.

The names of the children in Barbara Friedlander's class have been changed to protect their privacy.

Readers of Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students may make copies of the various materials in the book for educational purposes only.

Cover image ? Masterfile.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Powerful writing strategies for all students / by Karen R. Harris . . . [et al.].

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-55766-705-2 (alk. paper)

1. English language--Composition and exercises--Study and teaching.

2. Report writing--Study and teaching. 3. Learning disabled children--

Education. I. Harris, Karen R. II. Title.

LB1576.P686 2008

808'.042071--dc22

2007035843

British Library Cataloguing in Publication data are available from the British Library.

2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Chapter 9

STOP and DARE

LESSON 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 LESSON 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 LESSON 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 LESSON 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 LESSON 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 MATERIALS STOP and DARE Mnemonic Chart STOP and DARE Directions STOP and DARE Checklist Brainstorming Sheet Linking Words Cue Cards Essay Topics Transfer Sheet My Self-Statements STOP and DARE Certificate Bulletin Board:

? Self-Statements Stop Signs ? Writing Paper

207

STOP and DARE

CHAPTER 9 LESSON 1

LESSON 1

LESSON OVERVIEW The essay planning strategy and essay parts reminder will be introduced in this lesson. The teacher will introduce the parts of the persuasive/opinion essay planning strategy called STOP:

S: Suspend judgment

T: Take a side

O: Organize ideas

P: Plan more as you write

Collaboratively, the teacher and students will brainstorm, discuss, and list the parts of a well-written essay: for example, good essays have a topic sentence. The teacher will describe the reminder for the four essay parts called DARE:

D: Develop your topic sentence

A: Add supporting ideas

R: Reject possible arguments

E: End with a conclusion

The students and teacher will establish goals for using STOP and DARE--namely, "To write better essays with four parts."

STUDENT OBJECTIVES The students will orally recite the parts of the essay planning strategy called STOP. The students will orally recite the essay parts reminder called DARE. The students will identify essay parts in an essay read in class, as well as in their personal essay previously written in a prior class session at school. The students will graph the number of parts found in an essay.

MATERIALS One copy for each student: ? STOP and DARE mnemonic chart ? STOP and DARE Checklist ? Sample essays for identifying parts (see

essay samples in chapter 8)

? Chart paper or chalkboard ? Pencils ? Students' previously written essays ? Transfer sheet

SET THE CONTEXT FOR STUDENT LEARNING

This introduction to the strategy emphasizes the qualities that make a good essay. Explain to the students that for this writing class they will learn how to compose good essays. They will learn that good essays can persuade someone to change her or his point of view, that good writers plan before they write, and that good essays have several parts. Why should students learn to write essays? The basic ideas in essays are found everywhere (e.g., on TV, on the radio, in newspaper editorials, at government meetings and political rallies, in letters to the editor, at home). People who can write good essays know how to convince and persuade others of their opinions. The students can share examples of their try-

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ing to convince their parents, teachers, or friends to believe their side of an issue and what that issue was.

CHAPTER 9 LESSON 1

STOP and DARE

DEVELOP THE STRATEGY AND SELF-REGULATION

Step 1: Describe and Discuss the Strategy STOP

Discuss the writing process with the students, emphasizing that most expert writers plan before starting to compose.

? Give each student a copy of the STOP and DARE mnemonic chart. The chart should be covered so that only the first step, Suspend Judgment, shows. Ask the students if they know what the word suspend means. Analogies such as a policeman stopping traffic could be used. Clarify that in this case the word judgment means the formation of an opinion after hearing both sides of an argument. Explain that during this step, they will brainstorm ideas for and against the assigned topic.

? Uncover Take a Side. Tell the students that in this step, they will evaluate what they have brainstormed up to this point. Spend a few minutes discussing an important part of planning--deciding which side to believe. Explain that once that decision has been made, they will try to convince whoever reads their essay to agree with them.

? Uncover Organize Ideas. The third step will help the students to select ideas they feel will support their beliefs and to select at least one argument against the ideas that they can refute. Arguments both for and against the ideas must be stated to make a strong essay. Arguments that the writer does not agree with must be countered or dealt with in some way or they will actually weaken the essay. Discuss ways to refute an argument such as thinking of a contrasting reason or a condition that would make an exception to the argument. After the students select ideas and the side or an argument to agree with, they will number the ideas in the order in which they will be used. Deciding the numbered order of ideas is similar to using a map. Explain that when travelers use maps, they first look for the final destination and then choose a route that will take them there. Taking a side is like deciding a destination, and the essay will guide others to accept the side that the writer supports.

? Uncover Plan More as You Write. Emphasize that this means to continue planning as you compose, and remember to include the four essay parts in DARE.

Step 2: Parts of an Essay

The teacher and students will brainstorm parts of a good essay.

? Ask the students to state the parts of a good essay. Respond positively to all student answers; write down any answers that correspond with the vital essay parts (i.e., main idea, reasons, examples, arguments, end).

? Tell the students to use the terms topic sentence, supporting ideas, argument(s), and conclusion for the essay parts. Write these parts on the chart paper or chalkboard. Note any essay parts that the students have previously generated.

Step 3: Essay Parts Reminder--DARE

This step will introduce the students to the essay parts reminder DARE.

? Pass out copies of sample essays (selected from Chapter 8 materials or one you have developed) to each student. Ask the students to read along silently while you read the

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